


cool down

by catbeans



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 18:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13393557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catbeans/pseuds/catbeans
Summary: It's toasty (too toasty) and Han takes Luke swimming for the first time.





	cool down

**Author's Note:**

> this mentions luke having scars from the force lightning bc i cant and refuse to let go of that headcanon but can stand alone otherwise  
> (for/suggested by toris-fan-nest on tumblr)

Aside from the trash compactor, the fact that Luke couldn't swim never really came up.

There was never the time for it to come up for fun, and Luke had only heard about a pilot’s escape hatch landing them in water once, before he had even left Tatooine.

He didn't have much of a  _ need _ to know how to swim, and the thought didn't cross his mind for another few years after hearing about that pilot.

Luke could handle the heat fine, but as soon as he stepped out of their new base on a new planet, he turned right back around.

It was the humidity that he couldn't stand.

They had the cooling system as high as it could go without burning out, the air almost as damp and sticky as outside, and even with the cooling system on in the Falcon for Chewie, Luke could only stay fully dressed as long as he absolutely had to.

He kicked his boots off by the door to Han’s bunk, his shirt tossed to the foot of the bed and his pants somewhere he hadn't bothered to look, dropping face-first to the bed with a groan.

“How does anyone live like this,” he mumbled to himself, only turning his head a few minutes later at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.

“Luke, are you in--?”

Luke grunted and lifted his arm in a quick wave.

“Gotcha something,” Han said, and Luke held his hand up a little too late to keep the instant ice pack from smacking his shoulder. “Shit, sorry.”

Luke pushed himself upright, shuffling to the side to give Han room to sit next to him.

“You just gotta squeeze it,” Han said, gesturing to where he had another ice pack tucked into the collar of his shirt.

Luke nodded and held it up to his face as soon as he heard the soft  _ crack _ from inside.  _ “Oh, _ that's nice.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be used to this?”

“Not  _ this,” _ Luke said, waving his hand in the air before holding the ice pack between his wrists. “There was never enough water for it to be this sticky.”

“Yeah, it’s gross.” Han wrinkled his nose and gave Luke the ice pack from the back of his shirt. “Here, one sec.”

Luke flopped back down to the bed, tucking the ice pack between his neck and the mattress while Han dug around in one of the drawers under the bed.

“What are you looking for?”

“You know that river we passed over on the way down here?”

Luke shrugged.

“Part of it’s got a little…like a pond, I guess, on the side of it,” Han said, tossing a couple pairs of boxers onto the bed before kicking the drawer shut. “Heard it’s good for swimming.”

“I don't know how.”

_ “I _ do,” Han said. “You'll pick it up.”

“I don't know,” Luke said again, sitting up and handing back Han’s ice pack. “I’ve never…”

He pushed back the memory of  _ something _ looping around his leg, water too murky to see.

Han shrugged and sat back down next to him. “If you want,” he said. “It didn't sound that deep.”

Luke slowly nodded to himself, fidgeting with the edge of the ice pack between his wrists while he decided whether or not drowning in a river would be better than drowning in how unbelievably wet the air felt.

“Yeah,” he said a couple minutes later, shifting his legs a little further apart when it felt like his thighs would stick together. “That could be fun.”

He paused, pointedly looking between Han and the pairs of boxers he had dug out.

“They're not gonna get see-through, it’s close enough.”

Luke smiled and pushed himself up from the bed, wincing at the feeling like he had to peel himself off from the wall when he stood up.

“How far is it?”

“Probably not far enough to justify flying.”

Luke let out an exaggerated groan and reached down for his pants, suddenly wishing he still had some of his shirts from Tatooine rather than either the heavy black of his own clothes or the standard issue shirts, too thick and durable to breathe much.

He paused, glancing between his shirt on the floor and another one of Han’s tossed over a storage box, the collar just a little too low and the sleeves just a little too short to cover his wrists.

He could tell Han had noticed from the way he looked anywhere but Luke, but he didn't say anything about it when Luke tugged his sleeves down until they covered the line around his right wrist and the lowest part of his scars.

“Could really go for more pockets right now,” Han mumbled, looking down at himself before putting the boxers down with a quick, “Hang on.”

Luke picked them back up and followed Han out to where he was grabbing a towel to wrap them up in.

“Don't need anyone else seeing my underwear.”

Luke bit back a grin and followed him down the hall, only stopping for a second when Han shouted into one of the other rooms.

“Back in a while, pal.”

Han waited for a responding grunt before heading down the loading ramp.

Luke had to pinch the front of his shirt away from his chest, trying to ignore the fact that it would be even stickier outside as they walked through the hangar.

“I think I'd rather be freezing to death again,” Han grumbled, pushing his sleeves up higher and rubbing the back of his hand over his forehead. “This is a fuckin’ nightmare.”

“You're the one who wanted to leave,” Luke pointed out.

“And it will be worth it,” Han said, “once we get there and my skin isn't going to melt off, holy  _ shit--” _

“Are you sure you don't even want to take a speeder or something?”

“It’s close,” Han said. “Pretty sure it’s the same river they hooked up to base, so it can’t be that far.”

“I hope not,” Luke said, unsticking his shirt from his back with a wince. “Was it ever like this where you're from?”

“Sometimes,” Han said. “Mostly just during a heat wave or something, it wasn't usually this bad if you were by the ocean.”

“Did you swim a lot?”

“Not a lot to do other than pickpocketing.” Han stopped for a second, looking around before turning to the left. “This way.”

Luke had half a mind to just lie down on the ground by the time he could hear the bubbly sound of water coming from up ahead of them. It wasn't much longer before he could see it, slow-moving and clear even a few feet in.

“Should be almost there,” Han said, glancing back in the direction they had come from before pausing to pull his shirt over his head. “This is  _ brutal…” _

Luke squirmed at the feeling of his own shirt sticking to his skin again. “We could just stop here.”

“We didn't come all the way out here for nothing, it’s close.”

“You said it was close a few minutes ago.”

“And now we’re a few minutes closer,” Han said, carefully stepping over a steep pile of rocks tangled in tree roots, holding a hand out to help Luke up before he said, “See, told you.”

Luke could almost forget the suffocating heat for a second when he looked down, still holding Han’s hand.

It looked like the river had swerved off to the side before being flooded again, the water softly spinning in a lopsided circle at a bend in the stream, and Luke could almost see the bottom even towards the center of it.

“Oh…”

“Right?” Han grinned, giving Luke's hand a quick tug to lead him down to the water. “Heard it was nice.”

“It’s so  _ clear.” _

“Figured you'd like that more.”

Han’s expression was as warm as the air, warming his insides just the same at the thought put into it.

Luke had never said much about what had happened in the trash compactor, with bigger fish to fry than whatever had dragged him down, and it turned out he hadn't had to.

Han put his shirt and the towel down on a dry rock, leaving his boots next to it while Luke glanced around before peeling his shirt over his head.

“That didn't do much,” he mumbled to himself, absently rubbing at the line around his right wrist before leaving his shoes next to Han’s.

Han looked around too before stripping out of his pants and hurriedly pulling on the darker boxers.

“Pretty sure no one else is gonna be coming down here now,” he said, tossing the other pair to Luke, “but I could do without flashing someone.”

Luke bit back a grin, glancing behind him again before stumbling out of his pants, folding up his clothes on top of the towel.

“You're gonna have to wash those later anyway, come on.”

Han held out his hand again, loosely linking his fingers with Luke to lead him into the water.

_ “Oh, _ it’s cold.”

Han gave his hand a quick squeeze and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You get used to it.”

“I don't think I want to at this point,” Luke said, pausing for a second to wriggle his toes in the soft mud, fish smaller than his pinky and as thin as a piece of paper hurrying away from their ankles.

The mud sloped slightly down, the water not much higher than Luke's waist by the time they were most of the way in, still clear enough to make out the wobbly outline of his feet and the reassuring lack of anything else.

He didn't realize he was squeezing Han’s hand until he felt him wince, the sudden cold making him tense up.

“One sec,” Han said, gently prying his hand free and dunking down into the water before Luke could respond.

“Hey,” he laughed, nudging Han’s shoulder when he sprang back up, wiping the drops from his face that had sprayed up from Han’s hair. “Watch it there.”

“You're not here to stay dry,” Han said, tugging Luke a little farther out until the water was just past his belly button. “You're not gonna be so cold if you just go under for a sec and get it over with.”

Luke shivered and clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. “If you do it too.”

“You got it.” Han reached out for Luke's hand again, pulling him closer until their shoulders were touching. “Ready?”

Luke nodded, squeezing his eyes shut before yanking Han down with him and jumping back up as soon as he could feel his hair starting to float.

“That's--” he gasped, forcing himself to loosen his grip on Han’s hand. “That's  _ cold-” _

Han wound his arm around Luke's waist and pressed a quick kiss to his jaw. “Better though, right?”

Luke pushed his hair back from his eyes and looked down, the water around his waist feeling a little less bitter than before. “Yeah, actually.”

Han squeezed at his hip before taking a step behind him, his hands at Luke's waist. “Wanna try to float?”

“I don't know how.”

“I know,” Han said, and Luke had to stifle a shiver when he kissed the back of his neck, shifting his hands a little higher. “If you lean back, I got you.”

Luke took a deep breath and shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “And you'll hold me up.”

“I got you,” Han repeated, kissing the back of his head. “Easy as anything, just relax.”

Luke nodded, pulling in another deep breath before leaning back and letting his feet lift up from the mud.

“Relax,” Han said again, shifting one of his hands to the small of Luke's back. “Doesn't really work otherwise.”

“Okay,” Luke whispered, more to himself than to Han. “Okay…”

He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing as much as he could on Han’s hands at his back instead of the unnerving feeling of leaving the ground, clenching his fists before slowly breathing out through his nose and forcing his muscles loose and lax.

“Like you didn't even come from a desert,” Han said. “I'm barely holding you up.”

“Do  _ not--” _

“Wasn't gonna.”

Luke opened his eyes, squinting against the sun filtering down through the trees before smiling up at Han. “This is nice.”

Han rubbed his thumb along the bumps of Luke's spine. “Thought you'd like it.”

“It’s like a broken gravity simulator.”

“This is a lot more fun than that, trust me.”

Luke grinned and closed his eyes again.

“You can let go now,” he said a couple minutes later, waving his palms over the surface of the water.

Han moved one hand away first, slowly pulling his other hand back when Luke didn't start to sink.

“Good?”

“Mmhm.”

Luke opened his eyes again and looked over when he heard a splash, another few drops of water hitting his face when Han resurfaced to float next to him.

“There was one time we actually  _ did _ break the gravity simulator,” Han said, loosely linking his fingers with Luke's, “and I forgot for a second that a wrench wasn't gonna just hit the floor when I put it down, and it floated up and hit me at the back of the head.”

Luke had to bite back a laugh to keep from sinking down a couple inches. “Really?”

“Chewie had to start tying stuff down.”

Luke couldn't keep it down that time, tensing up on a laugh just enough that his head almost went under, scrambling for a couple seconds before his feet touched the mud again.

“You okay?”

Luke nodded and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Aren't those things made to be hard to break?”

“Like I'm gonna let that stop me.” Han’s cheeks puffed up on a deep breath before he let himself sink down and shoot back up again, pulling Luke closer for a kiss. “Your face is  _ freezing.” _

Luke didn't realize how much he was shivering until he felt how warm Han’s arms were around his waist. “It’s not exactly toasty.”

Han hummed and kissed him again before pulling back, tweaking his thumb over Luke's bottom lip. “You're going blue, you wanna go back?”

Luke shrugged, undecided only until Han tugged him a little closer, his chest where Han was pressed against him so much warmer than the rest of him. “Yeah, okay.”

Han let go to dunk himself under the water again, swishing his hair back before wading back to the bank. Luke’s skin felt somehow overheated and clammy at the same time once he was out of the water, none of it evaporating with how humid it was.

Han scrubbed his head dry before tossing the towel to Luke, pushing their clothes to the side to sit down on the rock.

“Should've brought snacks or something,” he mumbled, flicking some sand from his ankle before Luke sat down next to him.

“There’s always next time,” Luke said. “I don't think we have anything going on in the afternoon in a couple days.”

Han grinned and bumped his shoulder to Luke's. “Next time?”

“Well,” Luke said, scrubbing at the back of his neck, “I didn't drown, so.”

“You weren't gonna drown.” Han looped his arm around Luke's waist to tug him closer to kiss his jaw. “I'd catch you first.”

Luke smiled and turned his head to kiss him properly. “At least you’d be able to see whatever was about to get me this time.”

“I’d tangle with that thing again in a  _ second, _ don't try me.”

Luke could feel him smiling too when he kissed him again.

Neither of them said anything for a minute, Han absently rubbing his fingers over where Luke's waistband felt stuck to his skin before Luke felt his shoulders shift on a laugh.

“What?”

“You're all pruny,” Han said, reaching out with his free hand to trace his fingers over Luke's palm.

He held his right hand up next to it, the synthetic skin still as smooth and lineless as before.

“That looks so strange.”

Han grinned, bringing Luke's hand up to kiss his knuckles before Luke got the chance to lean in and kiss him again.

Luke only managed a couple minutes of ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the damp boxers clinging to his skin, breaking the kiss with a wince to try to pull the fabric away.

“You wanna go back?” Han asked, gesturing to where he'd left their clothes next to him.

Luke glanced over to the water, chewing at his lip before he said, “One more dunk to cool down again.”

“That’s the spirit.” 

Luke only got a few feet closer before he stopped, looking around before pulling the boxers down his legs with a mumbled, “Screw it.”

Han looked behind him at the wet  _ thwap _ of the fabric hitting the rock with the rest of their clothes. “So  _ now _ we’re making it fun.”

“Don't start,” Luke said, stifling a laugh before speeding past him to get back in the water.  _ “Oh, _ that's still cold.”

He had to bite back a yelp when Han jumped in next to him, flecks of water hitting his face before Han resurfaced to float on his back.

“That’s the point.”

“Okay,” Luke said to himself, bouncing on his heels. “One more time.”

He only saw Han giving him a thumbs-up just before his face went underwater.

He jumped back up barely a second later, wrapping his arms tight around himself and hauling back to the shore as soon as he was upright. “I'm out, too cold, let’s go.”

Han laughed, laughing harder when Luke smacked the water to splash back at him. “There’s that desert kid again.”

Luke shook his head to himself as he scrubbed his skin as dry as he could manage, pink and tingly by the time he could get his pants on without them sticking all the way up his legs.

He fidgeted for a second with the hem of his sleeves before rolling them up to his elbows.

It was a long enough walk back, there would be no one to see.

Han tossed his shirt over his shoulder and wound up the wet boxers as soon as he got his pants back on, holding out his free hand for Luke, and he didn't say anything about the jagged lines down his arm.

Luke gave his hand a quick squeeze before he said, “This was a good idea.”

Han squeezed back, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Figured you'd like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> @hansolosbi dot tumbler!


End file.
